Heisman fun for everyone

For the most part, Heisman Trophy campaigns are a thing of the past.

Too bad, too.

It was always fun to see the goofy campaigns that schools came up with. A couple years ago, Memphis did a miniature race car to tout DeAngelo Williams. Earlier this year, Missouri sent out one of those old-school view finders with pictures of Chase Daniel.

Fun stuff.

This morning, though, my mail contained one of my favorite campaigns of all time. It’s a campaign built around a campaign. Texas Tech has not one, but two Heisman candidates in Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. In an effort to promote both, the school is doing a political-campaign-themed campaign.

Crabtree-Harrell: Pass or Catch 2008.

Tech sent out a magnet, a bumper sticker and even a campaign button.

Too bad that more schools don’t have this kind of fun with their Heisman campaigns. Any more, most places send out updates on awards candidates via e-mail or postcards. Listen, I’m not any more likely to vote for Harrell or Crabtree because their school did a goofy campaign, but still, it’s nice to see the fun is not completely dead in college football.

One thing, though — I think it’s interesting that it’s Crabtree-Harrell instead of Harrell-Crabtree. I suspect when the campaign was hatched before the season, the folks at Tech suspected that Crabtree, the talented receiver, had a much better shot at the Heisman than Harrell. But with only two games remaining, the Tech quarterback is the frontrunner in most Heisman polls.

You can check out Tech’s Heimsan campaign for yourself at www.passorcatch2008.com.